The Meifod Claw” by John William Bowe

This novel is an interesting attempt to combine form with function. The writing style is intended to create in the reader’s mind the same experience the characters are going through. Since in this case the experience involves drugs, the results are interesting.The effects of drugs on the behaviour of characters can be hilarious, and in the story sometimes they are. However, such a comic device can be overused. When the characters are stoned so often that it has absolutely no effect on the way they act, then the reader says, “Why are you bothering to tell us this?” The other technique Bowe uses that parallels the stoned experience is random shifting points of view. This may seem appropriate in the context, but doing so halfway through a paragraph is rather disorienting. In a few spots the style can be rather irritating; twice the author is about to tell us something important, and then he just doesn’t. He finishes halfway through the explanation of the meaning of the title with “Ah, it doesn’t matter.” There is a difference between creating mysteries that the reader wants to solve and playing “I know but I won’t tell you.” I have a hint to all you authors out there; readers aren’t impressed.The saving grace of it all is the constant comic style that runs throughout. This author takes the drug-induced tendency towards close observation of the mundane and combines it with poetic flights of fancy and spot-on descriptive technique until at times I was laughing out loud. There is an old theatre adage that says you don’t portray boredom on stage by boring the audience. Portraying the experience of being stoned by making the reading experience obscure, fragmented and vague is a risky technique. The results can be evocative, funny, frustrating, or boring. This book pretty well runs the gamut. Recommended for stoners and fans of quirky humour. (4 / 5)